Crawling
by Purple Fool
Summary: Something is crawling in the dark and getting under peoples skins. Can the team find who or what is responcible and help themselves aswell...
1. A Promise

Title: Crawling

Author: Purple Fool

Rating: M due to themes, possible language

Warning: Strong descriptive scenes, not for the faint hearted. Gore and possible nudity later on.

Summary:

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the show or its characters etc. The only thing I own is a scary imagination and a computer.

Spoilers: Some season 1 spoilers but I'm sure most of you have seen them already.

All reviews are greatly appreciated, there is some stuff in here I am willing to give the readers some control over. Enjoy and review.

Chapter 1: A Promise Fulfilled

_As the fading sun slowly washed a hazy mist over a warehouse in outer Cardiff, eerie screams could be heard echoing across the deserted industrial estate. The sun reflected off the dulling metal of the corrugated sheets making up the foundations of the walls. As a faint breeze skimmed past the old door causing more red paint to peel from the surface of the rotten wood, the door swung to reveal heavy shadows sweeping through the inner workings of the warehouse. Two of the shadows were deep in conversation, now the only activity remaining. _

_Through the door, in the centre of the room lay two dismembered bodies, blood still flowing freely from the wounds inflicted upon them by the shadows. Dishevelled boxes on the far left wall formed a sheltered area, free from the light given out by the ironically single swinging light bulb above the corpses. There, two shadows stared at each other with grey eyes, both pleading, but for different reasons. _

_---------_

"_You promised!" I heard, the voice so quiet and desperate it barely reached my ears. "You promised to help me." _

"_I did," I told the pleading eyes, "Look at what I've done for you." I cast a hand in the direction of the bodies, trying to avert my eyes and find them locking onto the glare in front of me. I shift my gaze away and it lies on the bags at our feet. Blood was beginning to form a small pool where it was dripping from the knife._

"_It's not enough", I hear before I feel an almighty blow to my head and then darkness engulfed me. _

_Groggily, I began to stir. A sharp pain in my head reminds me of the day's events. The sun has nearly set and the harsh illumination of the single light in the warehouse stung my eyes as I peered out of my lids. I open my eyes just in time to see long tentacle like arm with a knife like object protruding from the end coming towards me, before feeling the white hot pain radiate through my body. I try to move, but find my self tied to the wall, a large leather strap around my waist, and similar ones holding me at the wrists. I pull on the straps as the knife life hand comes towards me again, slicing the skin on my body. My mind has finally begun to register the fact that I might be well and truly fucked, but I'm not going to give up now. I struggle again against the restraints and feel the plasterboard start to loosen from the wall. It appears my mouth has caught up with the rest if my body as I hear myself saying, "Why are you doing this?" _

"_You promised to help" was the only reply I heard before the sound of tearing flesh and my screams began to echo around the warehouse, drowning out the rustling of more bags being filled. _

_As my body began to protest against the torture I was enduring, my mind seemed unable to shutdown. Realising there was no way out, I hadn't the energy to pull against my leather bounds anymore. My mind began to wonder. I thought about how I should have helped my big sister when our parents kicked her out of the house. She didn't deserve it, they were in the wrong, but I did nothing to help her. I regretted so much, but my thoughts drifted to the pain and I just wanted it to be over. Finally succumbing to the darkness that enticed me, I wished the pain away. _


	2. Help Me

Chapter 2 – Help Me!

As a blanket of darkness fell on Cardiff most of its residents were getting home to their families or pissed up in bars or clubs after a stress filled week at work, a sea of blue lights washed over a warehouse on an industrial estate in a reserved section of the city. Blue and white 'Police' tape marked the perimeter, two detectives stood with grim faces watching as police office emptied their stomach contents close to a nearby rubbish bin.

A large SUV pulled up at the scene followed by a green Saab. Almost immediately out stepped a band of figures who seemed to hold more authority than the whole police presence put together. The apparent leader walked straight up to the detectives and stood in front of them. Dressed in a floor length military type jacket he was tall and broad with brown hair and eyes, and amazingly white teeth.

"Captain Jack Harkness" he introduced himself. "What have we got?"

The middle aged man looked the Captain up and down before replying, "3 dead bodies, looks like they've bin dissected or something. Lots of blood, very bad."

"So why are we here if it's a multiple homicide?" Jack asked slightly irritated at being called out in the middle of the night, well technically morning.

"We found this." He stated holding up a sphere the size of a cricket ball. It was metallic and had shaped and hieroglyphs on it. "Isn't this the type of crap you do?" the police officer continued.

Coming up behind him, carrying a variety of silver cases was two women and a man. The man put his case on the ground and crossed him arms across his chest, waiting instruction. The first woman was petite with an eastern origin it seemed; she also had a silver case as well a laptop under one arm. The woman at the back slipped the keys to her Saab into her pocket looking around distractedly at the police activity around her. Her eyes were drawn to a group of men who she had worked with before moving to Torchwood, a sad smile graced her features before she turned to pay attention to the conversation taking place in front of her.

"Tosh," he said to the smaller of the two woman "Check this out for me please" he turned towards her slightly throwing the sphere at her. She caught it one handed so as not to drop the laptop and walked of to one side mumbling about the possibilities of what she was looking at.

"Owen, Gwen, take inside, process the scene ill join you shortly" he dismissed the other two behind him.

Owen picked up his case and walked past the officer and into the warehouse closely followed by Gwen.

"Who found the bodies?" Jack asked.

"Officer on a routine round, we check these empty warehouses every couple of days, keep squatters out. I don't think you'll be able to talk to him , he's in shock, we'll have a report sent over for you."

"Ok, I think we have it from here thanks" Jack said dismissively as he began to walk around the outside of the building looking for anything indicating who or what had been here.

--------------

Inside the warehouse Owen made his way down a set of rickety wooden stairs into a basement storage area. Snapping on latex gloves and pulling out their flash lights Owen and Gwen made there way down to the bottom cautiously. As they reached the last step a wave of copper hit them like a brick and Gwen lost all colour in her face. Without looking behind him Owen said "Breathe through your mouth, it helps, well that's what they tell you anyway"

Beams of light from the torch Gwen held in her hand swept over the dimly lit room, chasing away some of the shadows within the depths. Slowly moving into the storage space the two colleagues could see only 2 bodies, hadn't someone said there were 3? Moving to a bit closer Gwen took her camera and readied to profile the first victim, a woman, blonde with no hands laid in a pool of blood. Beside her in a similar situation a red head who had had her legs removed laid with her arms spread out as if she was reaching for victim 1.

Owen had already bagged a pale yellow fibre he had found near victim 2's mouth and was trying to determine a cause of death. Gwen photographed various blood pools and cast of patterns, it seemed someone had walked through one or more of the pools of blood. Stepping carefully around the bloody puddles she came to see where the third victim was and had to rapidly repress her gag reflex, shuting her eyes and holding her breath. Behind a pile of boxes was what appeared to be a man, pinned to the wall by large leather straps. Blood pooled at his feet and smeared the wall behind him but that was not what disturbed Gwen, what caused her to feel suddenly sick was his appearance. The man had been skinned.

Setting her kit near her feet, she readied her camera and began to photograph the site before her. She took close ups of the leather restraints before lowering her camera. She noticed a small piece of metallic … something on the victim's abdomen and knelt beside her kit to retrieve a bag and some tweezers.

A rattling sound could be heard behind her and then a small crash penetrated her ears. She spun around to see plaster on the floor, beside her one of the leather restraints that was holding the man's arm lay haphazardly. Glancing at the body she concluded that the strap must have been loose and reached over and placed it in a bag. She made her way to the man and began to slowly tweeze the metal from his stomach area. A shiver ran down her spine, she had that feeling that something wasn't right. She looked around her nervously, but only registered that Owen was still looking at the other two bodies.

Suddenly, she felt a pressure on her arm strong enough to make her drop the tweezers she'd been holding. She spun to see a skinless hand wrapped tightly around her slender wrist, blood smearing up her arm. Her breathing was becoming erratic as she found two empty grey eyes looking intently back at her. The breath was stuck in her throat and the world was beginning to spin, she tried to breathe but found it difficult, her chest had seized up, all she could do was look at the cold, empty eyes.

"Help me!"


	3. A Scream

AN Thanks to Dale for being my Beta – you rock

Chapter 3 – A Scream

A desperate scream invaded Owen's senses and he quickly set his kit down before drawing his gun and moving towards where he had could see Gwen around the corner of the boxes. His breathing quickened as he moved swiftly around the pile of boxes. As he rounded the corner he was not prepared for the scene that assaulted his eyes. A man with no skin had Gwen's arm held tightly in a death grip. Gwen was struggling to get away, fear clearly evident on her face and in her eyes.

Owen pointed his gun at the man, his hands steady, even though he was shaking on the inside. "Let her go" he ordered sternly. Neither person gave any indication that they had heard him. He stepped forward, moving to the right side of Gwen, getting up into the skinned man's face. "Let go!" he ordered.

The man's gripped loosened enough for Gwen to pull away from his grip, she moved back so quickly she stumbled and fell backwards over her kit, landing with a thump, but it didn't stop her. She moved as far back as she could, until her back connected with a box. Pulling her knees to her chest she tried to regulate her breathing, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed she would wakeup in bed, and it was all just another bad nightmare.

Owen stood over the man, gun aimed at his head, which slowly slumped forward. Satisfied that the man was unconscious he re-holstered his gun and made his way over to Gwen's side. "Gwen?" he asked softly as he approached her. "Gwen?" he tried again. Owen looked worriedly at the trembling form before him. Emotions began to surge through him; the one that seem strongest was telling him to help the scared brunette. Kneeling beside her he tried again, "Gwen? Darling? Can you look at me?"

--------------

The words swam in her head, her brain not registering her own name; it was the tone she heard in the voice that seemed to break through the cloud around her head. She opened her eyes to see a worried expression on a slightly flushed face. 'What did he call me?' Gwen thought as she looked into the blue eyes of her colleague. They were so much warmer than the others that had captured her before, they held emotion, concern, worry and something she couldn't quiet place, they were so much nicer than the others. A shudder ran through her and it was only now that she realised she was shaking; her breathing still unsteady and her head seemed to be spinning.

A frown formed on Owen's face, Gwen still hadn't replied to her, the only evidence he had to indicate that Gwen had heard her was that she had opened her eyes and looked at him. Suddenly, the room was awash with officers, having heard the commotion they had finally come to 'help'.

Looking around he saw Jack and Tosh moving towards them, tipping his head slightly towards the man who was still strapped to the wall Owen moved his eyes back to the quivering form in front of him. Placing his hand on Gwen's shoulders he distantly heard Jack shouting "We've got a live one! We need a paramedic!"

Moving to help her up, Owen placed his hands on Gwen's shoulder gently. "Come on, lets get outta here," he said softly, a slight sympathetic smile forming on his lips. Saying nothing, Gwen rose shakily to her feet, leaning slightly on her colleague as she was lead out of the warehouse.

Emerging from the building they only got a few steps away before Gwen's shaky legs gave way and she collapsed, her breathing erratic and tears streaming down her face. Owen caught her before she hit the floor and gently lowered her down, holding her in a protective embrace, stroking her hair gently and whispering soothing words, while the brunette tried to get control of her breathing.


	4. Calls

Chapter 4 - Calls

Jack came out of the warehouse followed by a few green looking police officers. He took and deep breath, closing his eyes, he opened them just in time to see a brunette being lead towards the SUV by a slightly taller man and collapsing in a heap on the floor.

As Jack took in the scene of two of his employees huddled together on the floor he was bumped by a paramedic talking frantically on his phone.

"Can you hear me now?" he shouted down the phone while walking in small circles trying to get a better reception on his mobile. "Yeah, that's what I said …… Yes …… Partly skinned, one arm, torso, a leg, some of his face …… NO I'M NOT FUCKING JOKING ……. Yes …… No …… What should we do? …… OK, I think we can do that, it makes some sense I suppose, Ok thanks we'll see you soon." And with that he disconnected the call and walked towards the ambulance.

------------

When Tosh had seen the officers storm the building her stomach flipped. They knew this job had dangers, big ones, but it didn't make it any less shocking when something bad happened. Her colleagues were in the warehouse, more importantly, her friends were.

She watched as Owen escorted Gwen from the building almost cradling her in his arms before collapsing to the floor. It was then that her legs decided to wake up and she moved swiftly to the stairs and followed them out behind an anxious Jack. She watched as Jack went over to her two friends on the floor and knelt beside them.

Jack tried to look for any possible wounds, but couldn't see any signs apart from what appeared to be a blood smear on Gwen's right arm that somewhat resembled the shape of fingers.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Jack asked his eyes still on Gwen's blooded arm, before rising to her tear stained face and finally landing on Owen's face, probing for an answer.

-------------

Jacks face expressed deep concern for the woman. He watched as Owen seemed to be fighting an internal battle to find his voice and tell them what happened. He looked at Jack and looked down at the shaking woman in his arms. "It's alright, it's alright" Owen murmured into Gwen's hair as he kissed the top of her head and shut his eyes tightly.

After a moment, once Gwen's tears and shakes subsided, Owen looked up at Jack ready to speak before something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Two paramedics and three other police officers were carrying supplies from the ambulance towards the door.

"So, what are we gunna do with him?" one the officers asked.

"They doctor on the phone said to treat the wounds the same as we would burns, so we are gunna … apply gel pads and … umm … wrap him in clingfilm." the paramedic Jack had seen on the phone replied.

The others nodded slowly; it's seemed to make sense to them.

--------------

"Owen"

Owen turned to face Tosh who was knelt by his side as she said his name. When he made no move to say anything she tried again. "Owen, the medics are taking care of the guy, and they're gunna keep some officers on him and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else, OK?"

Nodding slowly as the words sank in he remembered that his boss was waiting to know what had happened. Turning to face him he looked at them before finally explaining, "One of the bodies wasn't dead, he grabbed Gwen and …" he trailed of.

Everyone had been quiet, listening intently to the few softly spoken words, unsure if they were hearing correctly but one brief look at the scene had told them it was true.

Jack nodded to himself. "Ok both of you, go home, get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."


	5. Making Tracks

A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you really made my day. Please keep them coming, the more I get the faster I will try to write. Thanks again to my beta. And in case I haven't put up a disclaimer before I don't own torchwood or any recognisable characters, but I have been a very good girl this year.

A/N2 This is going to be quiet a longish chapter so I hope you enjoy it, I know Torchwood aren't really seen doing any forensic type stuff but I think it is appropriate in this chapter. And if anything seems wrong I apologise, I'm only in the first year of my forensic science degree and we haven't studied much actually forensicy stuff.

Enjoy.

Chapter 5 – Making Tracks

Owen nodded slowly before turning to Gwen who was still clinging to the front of Owen's shirt as if her life depended on it. "Come on, let's go home." he said gently placing another kiss to the brunettes head before helping her to stand. With one arm placed solidly around Gwen's thin waist they moved towards her green Saab. However, upon reaching the passenger door, Owen realised he didn't have the keys, Gwen had driven to the scene by herself.

"Gwen?" Owen asked gently so he didn't startle his younger colleague who hadn't looked at him since they had started walking, her eyes seemed fixed on a distant spot that Owen couldn't see. "Do you have the keys?"

-----------

Gwen snapped out of the daze she had been in since she had exited the crime scene and looked at Owen, before looking at the car and then back to Owen. She shook her head to try and make sense of what was happening but all she could remember was the hand, and the voice and those eyes. She shuddered, shaking her head before hearing, "You don't have the keys?"

Gwen looked into Owen's warm eyes before replying, "No, I do have the keys, I think, they are … in my pocket." she finally managed before starting to look for her keys in the pockets on her jeans. However her hands were shaking so much it was making the task extremely difficult.

Gwen felt a hand on her arm and immediately withdrew from the touch, pulling away so quick she banged into the side of the car. She shut her eyes tight before hearing, "Sorry, it's just me … Your alright now." Gwen looked at Owen's worried face and nodded, her eyes on the floor, before she was enveloped in a reassuring hug. When she felt Owen pull away she tightened her grip on his body, just for a moment longer. When she raised her eyes to Owens she was shocked to see he had taken the keys from her pocket and was holding open the passenger door.

Shaking her head again Gwen sat in the passenger seat, her hands still shaking and before she even had time to reach for it Owen had fastened her seatbelt for her and shut the door. Any other time and she would have chewed him out for treating her like a kid but instead she closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. She tried to get her head in check, her head was confused with the night's events and she didn't know how to unconfuse it.

Owen got into the drivers side of the car, buckled up and started the engine. Taking one last look at the scene where Jack stood talking to Toshiko and then looking at Gwen, he pulled away from the scene and into the busy traffic of Cardiff.

---------

Jack watched as the Saab pulled away from the scene. He stood in a daze thinking about Gwen, and how he felt. She was the one in the team that kept everyone grounded, who even when the situation got especially bad was there to remind the team what they were there for. The person who reminded them that they were human and that the people involved matter.

Jack snapped out of his thoughts by a commotion being made behind him. Emerging from the warehouse were three paramedics carrying a stretcher. On the stretcher was a body covered in cooling gel pads and wrapped in clingfilm. If it had been a tomb it was emerging from and not a warehouse in a seedy part of town Jack would have said it was a mummy being excavated.

As his eyes followed the men to the ambulance he turned to Toshiko who had stopped typing on her computer and watching the scene unfold before her with a grimace on her face. The device that the police had removed for them was no where to be seen and Jack assumed Tosh had packaged it for further inspection at the hub.

"Ok," Jack started pulling them both from there thought, "What do we know so far?" he asked.

"Not much really. We have no ID on the vic's, Owen can properly give us cause of death. The shiny thing the police gave us seems to be some sort of transmitting device, but ill need to do more research to confirm it."

Jack nodded in thought. "Ok I want forensics doing, start with the outside and join me on the inside when you're done. I want fingerprints, DNA, anything that can give us a clue as to who or what did this." He said before turning on his heel and retrieving a kit before disappearing inside the warehouse.

Tosh retreated to the SUV quickly to return her laptop and safely store the alien device, before picking up her kit and moving towards the warehouse door.

-------

It was very quiet in the car, they had been travelling of about 15 minutes and neither person had spoken. Owen kept stealing worried glances at the brunette who he had grown so attached to recently. Ever since she had been shot in the countryside he had gotten extremely protective of her. Looking at her closely she seemed to be lost in her own little world, staring out of the car window at the cars whizzing in the opposite direction.

Stopping at a red light Owen had a chance to study Gwen a little better. She was sat, almost curled into herself, her knees almost to her chest and her hand resting on her arm that still had a blood smear on it. Her eyes were red from crying and the wariness showed on her face, she seemed exhausted.

"You feeling any better?" Owen finally asked, only afterwards realising how stupid it was to ask her how she was feeling.

Gwen looked away from the window and met Owen's eyes, they were warm, and she felt safe with him. She nodded. "A bit" was her only reply before she turned back to the window.

Owen continued to watch Gwen, studying her as if she were a body on his autopsy table, before thinking of how glad he was that she wasn't.

"Umm, Owen" Gwen said.

Realising he was staring Owen quickly turned his head. "Yeah?" he asked.

"The lights green."

A confused expression crossed Owens face before he realised they were still in the car. He quickly put the car into gear and pulled away continuing on home.

-------

Tosh set her kit down besides the warehouse door. Opening it up she removed a small brush and a tub of magnetic fingerprinting dust. Lightly dusting the door and the handle area, a small smile came to her face as a clear hand print appeared in the centre of the door and also a few prints near the handle. Taking some long pieces of sellotape she lifted the prints before fixing them to a sheet of acetate and labelling them.

Noticing the position of the hand prints it looked like someone had pushed the door open hard. The red paint on the door was old and cracked. If some had pushed hard enough, some of the paint might have transferred to there hands, Tosh surmised and collected a sample of the paint into a bag and then sealing it.

Walking slowly around the building looking for anymore evidence that might help them find who was responsible she thought about Gwen. A frown appeared on her face, deep in thought about the newest recruit. Gwen always seemed to have time for everyone, and she was great with people. She always seemed to know how to make people feel better. Tosh did feel a little jealous about the fact that she seemed so close to Owen, but Tosh had gotten over her little crush on Owen after the Mary incident.

Coming to a stop around the back of the warehouse a patch of soil caught her eye. There were some partial footprints and tyre marks in the soil. She removed a digital camera from her pocket and took a few pictures that could be uploaded onto her computer to find the brand and make of shoe and tyre.

Completing her search of the perimeter there was nothing else of seeming significance so she made her way back towards red door of the warehouse.

---------

Jack made his way down the rotting wooden stairs, his flashlight sweeping across the room. He immediately noticed the distinct blood pools and patterns in various parts of the room.

Making his way towards the first body, a blonde woman with no hands. She had been pretty once, Jack thought as he took some pictures of the body. Laying next to her was a red head with no legs. Jack couldn't find anything helpful on the bodies and so moved around towards where he had found Gwen being attacked by what was left of that man. If it even was a man, it was hard to tell.

As he rounded a pile of boxes he firstly saw Gwen's kit scatted on the floor were it had been kicked in her haste to escape her captor. Her camera lay discarded nearby. There were some evidence bags among the pile of object that had fallen from Gwen's kit and Jack assumed most of the evidence had already been collected. Large leather straps covered in blood were held to the wall by massive bolts. Blood pooled on the floor and plaster dust was visible in one of them as well as a small shiny object. Removing it from a blood pool he placed it in a bag and collected Gwen's kit together before turning and retreating from the room.

On his way up the stairs Toshiko appeared at the top. "Hey, you done already?" she asked her boss.

"Yea, Gwen and Owen had done most of the work. Lets get this stuff back to the hub." He said continuing his journey up the stairs and out towards the Torchwood SUV

----------

Owen pulled the car into the driveway of his house, taking the keys from the ignition he opened the door and stepped out. Moving around to the passenger side he opened the door for Gwen.

Gwen looked at Owen as the door opened and a draft of cold air hit her skin. She then looked at the surroundings. "This isn't my apartment." She said, slightly confused.

"I know," Owen replied, "Your gunna stay here tonight, I wanna make sure you eat something and get some rest." With that he walked up the path towards the door, leaving a confused Gwen looking at his retreating form.


	6. Sleep Tight

Chapter 6 – Sleep Tight

Owen opened the front door to his apartment and held the door open for Gwen who, reluctantly crossed the threshold and stood in the hallway, looking around the familiar environment she had entered. She had been here before after she got shot in the countryside and Owen had patched her up and here she was again. But, this time they weren't tearing each others clothes of; in fact Gwen had her arms crossed tightly across her chest in a protective manner.

Closing and locking the door Owen walked past Gwen, removed his jacket he threw it on top of the kitchen counter. Turning and looking at the brunette, Owen took a minute to watch Gwen take in her surroundings. Suddenly, Owen began to feel the effects of the day and began to feel very tired. He walked around the kitchen and put the kettle on ready to make some coffee before returning to the hallway to find Gwen stood in the same spot, her arms crossed across her body, and her eyes scanning the hall.

"Go get a shower, you'll feel better once you're warmed up. I'll get you some clothes to wear and then we'll have something to eat, order a take away or something alright?" Owen told, rather than asked the woman in front of him.

Gwen's head spun to meet Owen's and she just nodded distractedly before saying, "I'm not really hungry."

"Well I am." Owen replied before heading towards the bathroom.

Gwen took it as a sign to follow and made her way towards the bathroom, her eyes still taking in the rooms around her, hyper aware of her surroundings, the last dregs of adrenaline still pumping round her system. Stopping behind Owen at the bathroom she turned her attention to what the man was saying.

"There are clean towels in the towel box, I'll put you some clothes on the side in a bit." Gwen told her, giving her a small smile before pushing the door open and then leaving towards his bedroom to find some clothes that might fit the small brunette woman.

------

After dropping Tosh back at her place Jack had returned to the hub with what they had found at the crime scene. The hub was mainly a quiet hum. Ianto had gone home after finishing up some 'paper work' that included making a weevil killing look like a suicide. Jack dropped the items they had collected on the table; he'd deal with them in the morning. His thoughts wandered to the memories of the night. Gwen, the dark haired beauty who had come crashing into his life, had been hurt yet again under his watch. The man who had hurt her, how was he even alive with those kinds of injuries.

He let his mind wander for a while, possible scenarios and suspects running through his head. Eventually he climbed down to his room and laid on the small bed there, he wouldn't sleep, but he could get some rest until the morning.

-----

Listening to the water running, Owen made his way to his bedroom to find some clothes that would fit the small brunette. He began searching through his drawers. Pulling out a sweatshirt and some tracksuit bottoms he placed them on the side and sat on his bed letting out a large sigh. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to fall backwards and think for a bit.

His mind wandered to the woman currently stood in his shower. She'd looked so scared and lost it broke Owens heart; he had never seen the strong, independent ass kicking Gwen Cooper look so vulnerable.

His musings were interrupted by a muffled bang. His feet immediately carried him to the bathroom. He knocked gently. "Gwen, are ya alright?" he called through the door.

------

Gwen stepped under the hot jet of water and let the water try to wash away her worries. She stood there, content to let the water warm her body and make her thoughts melt away for a while. She reached for a bottle of shower gel and began to scrub all her troubles away. She proceeded in washing her hair and rinsing it through before looking at her arm. There was nothing there. The blood smear that has tainted her skin had long since swirled down the drain, but she could still feel it there, his hand, touching her, and she had to get it off of herself.

-----

Making his way back to the bathroom, Owen heard another muffled bang come from behind the door. He called out to the brunette currently in his shower, "Gwen?". He didn't get a response from the woman inside, so he knocked again, this time a little harder. "Gwen?" he said again. "Gwen are ya alright?" he asked, now genuinely concerned. "Gwen, I'm going to come in," he said as he opened the door slowly.

Owen poked his head inside and looked toward the shower cautiously, one hand over his eyes, peering through his fingers. Gwen was sat in the bottom of the shower, franticly scrubbing at her arm where the 'victim' had grabbed her. She held a washcloth in her hand, scrubbing repeatedly at her arm. Owen quickly dropped his hand from his eyes, threw down the clothes he had been holding and opened the shower door open. "Gwen," Owen started. "Gwen, you need to stop," Owen said, reaching for the washcloth.

Gwen finally looked up at him when his hand came into her line of sight. She backed further into the corner of the shower, thinking he had come back. Owen had never seen someone this scared before. Gwen's eyes where a swirl of emotions, but fear was defiantly evident. Looking down at her arm, Owen noted the raw red skin, which was only becoming more irritated with each scrub.

"Gwen, come on, get up, lets get you into bed" Owen said quietly, thinking briefly that it was properly the first time he had ever said that without an ulterior motive.

"No," Gwen protested.

"Gwen, come on you're hurting yourself," Owen said, reaching for the washcloth in her hand.

"No" Gwen said, looking up at him. "I can still feel him on me."

"Darlin', I know, but this isn't going to make you feel any better..." he said, finally grabbing onto the washcloth and reaching to turn off the water. Gwen looked up at him, wrapping her arms around herself. "Gwen, come on, let's get you out of here" Owen told her. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her helping her out of the shower without taking advantage of the fact that he held a very naked Gwen in his arms.

Turning to the counter, he handed Gwen the clothes he had picked out for her. "I'll be outside," Owen told her. "Go ahead and get dressed and then you can get some sleep." Gwen nodded slowly and Owen stepped out to give her some privacy.

Gwen finally emerged from the bathroom and looked up at Owen from behind the damp strands of hair that were in her face. "Come on," Owen said quietly, leading her into his bedroom. Gwen followed him with both arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"You can sleep here tonight," Owen told her. Gwen nodded slowly, sitting down on the bed and looking at the floor. Gwen seemed to be in another place and time at the moment- she wasn't responded verbally, only physically. "I'll be on the sofa in the other room if you need me" Owen told her. "Go ahead and try to get some sleep," Owen said. Gwen obeyed, slowly lying down on the bed. Owen pulled the blanket over her as Gwen closed her eyes. Owen smiled a little and watched her settle down before placing a kiss on her forehead "Sleep tight" he whispered before walking down the hallway to his living room.

Collapsing on her sofa, he sighed deeply. He was definitely going to have trouble falling asleep that night, but he just hoped Gwen would get some rest, even if he himself didn't sleep a wink. Closing his eyes, he thought about how resigned and reserved Gwen seemed to be. All the spark that made her Gwen Cooper, ex-police officer and torchwood alien hunter. Thoughts of Gwen swam in his head before he fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
